a city in Czechoslovakia, in the Slovak Socialist Republic; administrative center of the region of East Slovakia. Located in the Hornád (Hernád) River valley, in the foothills of the Slovak Ore Mountains. Population, 152,000 (1971); the second most populous city in Czechoslovakia. It is a transportation junction and a center of ferrous metallurgy. Industries include heavy machinery, magnesite, food, garments, and wood products. The city has a university.
Košice has an outstanding monument of Slovak Gothic architecture, the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth (1382-1499), with rich stone carvings, as well as the Gothic chapel of St. Michael (second half of the 14th century), a Dominican church and monastery (14th to 18th centuries), a baroque city hall (1756), and palaces and public buildings in the classical style. Large-scale construction apartment buildings began in the late 1940’s. The city also houses the Museum of East Slovakia.